Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference

Something has shifted in our classrooms. Educators across grade levels and subject areas are reporting the same thing: students who cannot focus, cannot regulate, cannot tolerate uncertainty, and cannot connect the way they once could. And most professional development has responded by adding more — more curriculum, more programs, more policy, more things for already-exhausted educators to implement.

This session takes a different approach entirely.

You Can't Teach a Nervous System That's On Fire is a deep, honest, and surprisingly hopeful look at what is actually happening to the students sitting in our classrooms — through the lens of neuroscience, social media research, and the realities of growing up in an era of unprecedented collective overwhelm.

Participants will leave with:

A clear, accessible understanding of how chronic social media consumption is affecting the adolescent nervous system

The ability to recognize and reframe specific student behaviors through a neurological lens — transforming how they see and respond to their most challenging students

Practical, evidence-informed strategies to support student regulation that require no new budget and no additional programs

Language and tools to share with parents navigating these same challenges at home

This is not a session about blaming phones, diagnosing students, or adding to anyone's workload. It is a session about understanding — because when you truly understand what you are looking at, everything about how you show up changes.

And that changes what is possible in the room.

Presenters

Kristi Bush

Keynote Speaker, Social Media Safety Educator, KNB Communications

Kristi Bush serves as a national education consultant and social media safety advocate. She is a licensed social worker with greater than 20 years of clinical practice and health care experience. She attended Troy and Auburn University where she studied social work and counseling... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Cafeteria/Auditorium

9:00am CDT

PowerSchool SIS Basics / Tips and Tricks

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 28

Learn the essentials and expert tips to navigate PowerSchool SIS efficiently.

Presenters

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 28

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

9:00am CDT

General PowerSchool Q&A

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 32

Get answers to your PowerSchool questions and learn how to make the most of its features.

Presenters

Lance Lewis

Supervisor Registrar and SIS Operations, Other

Tabitha Syde

Utility Registrar, BCBE

William Waldrop

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Daniel Brawdy

Enterprise Systems Coordinator, Education Technology

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 32

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

10:00am CDT

General PowerSchool Q&A

Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 32

Get answers to your PowerSchool questions and learn how to make the most of its features.

Presenters

Tabitha Syde

Utility Registrar, BCBE

William Waldrop

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Daniel Brawdy

Enterprise Systems Coordinator, Education Technology

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 32

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

10:00am CDT

PowerSchool SIS Incidents

Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 28

Manage and track student incidents with ease using Simple.

Presenters

Lance Lewis

Supervisor Registrar and SIS Operations, Other

Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 28

Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Pre-K Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, 504 Coordinators, Career Tech Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

10:00am CDT

The Teacher’s Spellbook: Google Scripts + Gemini Edition

Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 3

Step into The Teacher’s Spellbook and discover how to transform your daily tasks into automated “magic” using Google Apps Script and Google Gemini. This session is designed for educators with little to no coding experience who want to save time, reduce repetitive work, and streamline classroom and administrative workflows.

Participants will explore how Google tools like Sheets, Forms, and Slides can be enhanced with simple scripts to automate tasks such as sending emails, organizing data, generating reports, and creating presentations. The real “cheat code” of the session is learning how to use Google Gemini to write these scripts—no coding background required.

Through real-world examples, including large-scale event management and classroom applications, attendees will leave with practical strategies, ready-to-use prompts, and the confidence to begin automating their own workflows immediately.

Presenters